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REWE City at the main train station – the supermarket with a difference – Anyone who sees how much I post about restaurants might not imagine that I sometimes wander into a supermarket. 😉 In fact, I'm not exactly a regular customer doing "big shopping" for all the usual necessities – milk, bread, pasta, etc. Nevertheless, I'm drawn to the supermarket regularly. Specifically, whenever I want to see what's new on the shelves. But then I'm less interested in the shapes of the pasta and the colors of the yogurt containers, and much more in what's happening in terms of food trends, the startup scene, and product selection. A typical supermarket with a "by-the-book" selection can quickly become boring, even for me – someone who's only interested in food and drink – and after a couple of trips through the supermarket aisles, I'm done. However, for anyone who, like me, enjoys discovering new and even exclusive products, my new "favorite" supermarket should be paradise: the REWE City at the main train station. Come on, let's go shopping….

Rewe City am Hauptbahnhof Supermarkt im Test Wyld 3Bears

Just one shelf with many special products

What makes the REWE City at the main train station so special

Step inside, take the escalator down, and off you go. Right at the entrance, you'll have your first "aha!" moment with all the new products (more on that below...), and the desire to browse further immediately grows. Strolling through the store and along the shelves, you quickly realize that you've discovered a truly unique market with REWE City at the main train station. They offer unusual, special, and even exclusive products and assortments. What makes this independent market special is not only the exceptional friendliness and customer focus, but also the fantastic selection.

Rewe City am Hauptbahnhof Supermarkt im Test Purasana 2

The purasana product range at REWE City at the main train station

The product range

The REWE City supermarket at Munich's main train station offers around 11,000 different items. While this might seem like a typical size for a supermarket, what makes it special is that approximately 1,500 to 2,000 of these items are consistently available only in other Munich supermarkets, or indeed anywhere else in the market. In other words, REWE City at the main train station is a pioneer and a trendsetter for many other supermarkets when it comes to innovation. This means that you'll find the best and easiest way to get new products, start-up food items, or regional products (like genuine Munich honey!) at this supermarket. The store also features two shelves dedicated to kosher food – food permitted according to Jewish dietary laws.

The product range thus stands out significantly from other REWE supermarkets in the REWE Group, as well as other REWE City stores. This is because the REWE City at the main train station is an independent, privately owned supermarket. Christian Dell, the store operator and owner, decides what ends up on the shelves (or not). I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Dell and learned that innovation and thinking outside the box are paramount in this particular REWE City store. I also really appreciate the approach of giving small producers and young companies, which are just starting out, a chance in the retail sector.

Rewe City am Hauptbahnhof Supermarkt im Test ausgewaehlte Weine

We also have a selection of wines…

Now back to the contents of the shelves. Anyone who enjoys wine and wants to pick up some of the "better" bottles in a supermarket will find what they're looking for at REWE City at the main train station. Wines from the wine shop, worth up to €100 per bottle, are displayed alongside a well-stocked selection of a wide variety of wines. In fact, the selection of spirits and the extensive range of products stretch along meters of shelving (5 meters long, whereas 1-3 meters is typical!), offering a selection of rare and special liqueurs, high-quality schnapps, gins, and more. (For example, you can find the sought-after "2013 Riesling Auslese" from Schloss Johannisberg (0.375ml for €39.99), a 35%iger "Rum Malecon – Licor de Ron" (for €28.49), and the collector's edition of Sangre de Vida tequila bottles in the shape of a skull.)

The well-stocked fresh produce section also focuses on regional products. Behind the meat counter, you'll find exclusively Bavarian meat (e.g., Simmental beef, Styrian Almochsen beef, lamb, or pork). Oh, and by the way: the pork and lamb are "GQB quality." This stands for "Tested Quality Bavaria" and is a seal developed exclusively for REWE in cooperation with the Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture. The motto is clearly: quality over quantity. I like that, and it's a theme throughout the entire store. The ideal mix of basic products, fresh and regional high-quality goods, and an exceptional selection. So, as you work your way through the aisles of this REWE City store, you'll inevitably keep coming across the next and next and next highlight.

Start-ups, niche products and goods from the region

Rewe City am Hauptbahnhof Supermarkt im Test Fruchtpapier 3

Fruit paper in various types

Besides the supplier panifactum, which was already mentioned at the beginning, there is, for example, an entire wall of shelves full of purasana-articles. Purasana is a company founded in 1977 (then as "Biovita") focusing on superfood products and is one of the market leaders in natural and organic products. Their product range includes "Hemp Protein," "Spiru Lina - Raw Powder," "Coconut Blossom Sugar," "Green Mix," "Breakfast Powder Mix," "Agave Powder," "Açai Berry Powder," "Maca Cacao Powder Mix," and, of course, the "Super Food Cacao Raw Beans" I chose for snacking (prices range from €6.95 to €16.95). Separate displays also feature offers that you can otherwise find via foodist – the providers of monthly „food boxes“ with healthy food – you can obtain. (Besides purasana, for example, also „mission more“ protein snacks & balls or 24/7 Delight milk (with almond, agave, coconut, turmeric and vanilla) (330ml for €2.79).

Rewe City am Hauptbahnhof Supermarkt im Test Muenchner Honig

Munich honey! Amazing, isn't it?

While browsing the shelves, you'll also find coconut blossom sugar from JAINUR, high-quality and special DOP oils, a blossom honey from Munich (a must-try!), and rapeseed and forest honey from Bavaria (each for €2.99). It doesn't get more regional than that. I also really liked the "Fruit Papers" from Dörrwerk located near the checkout. These are wafer-thin, intensely flavored sheets of 100% fruit in three different varieties (apple-mango, apple-strawberry, and apple-pineapple), as well as air-dried tomato chips made from 100% tomatoes. The best part: everything is made from fruit that would otherwise have ended up in the trash. I found it particularly interesting to see how much thought and effort went into each of the 1,500 to 2,000 products mentioned above. Each one involved careful consideration, experimentation, and testing before it could finally be sold in the supermarket. Fascinating, isn't it?

Anyone who needs a little energy after a trip to the supermarket and likes to eat energy bars should look for the energy bars from [brand name] at eye level at the checkout. CHIMPANZEE Keep an eye out for Natural Nutrition. I've already tried the apricot, crunchy peanut, and beetroot-carrot varieties. They're quite substantial, filling, and naturally sugar-free bars for a quick energy boost. (From €1.69 each). (My first choice would be the apricot bar if you'd like to try one first.)

Well, I could go on forever. For example, at REWE City at the main train station, you can exclusively (!) get a good 50 different kosher foods, sauces, spices, sweets, canned goods and wines (including the coveted Carmel wine "King David Concorde" (0.75l for €9.99)), but also "halal" products as well as various types of porridge, muesli and slim shakes from vitafy. WYLD. Likewise, products from 3Bears, in the form of different types of porridge or also high-quality food in preserved form from the Essendorfer Gourmet Melting Plant (…it's worth stopping by for that alone!). They also have the discreetly designed little bags from/with SUPER GOOD Fruits, which you can then use to enhance your purchased porridge (muesli, smoothie, breakfast). (I recommend the Chia Porridge with Blueberries from WYLD!) Also, individual organic products from Ethiquable They're on the shelves – also not easy to find. Phew, listing everything would take quite a while; I want to make you want to go and shop for yourselves. But I do want to whet your appetite for one of the vendors beforehand: panifactum.

Rewe City am Hauptbahnhof Supermarkt im Test Panifactum Stand

panifactum with low-carb products

Selected: A closer look at panifactum

Currently, 30 different panifactum products are available at the REWE City supermarket. The life-size display near the entrance is hard to miss. And that's a good thing! It showcases a wide variety of products from the certified organic start-up panifactum, which specializes in low-carb and grain-free products. You'll find low-carb options galore, from various bread and cake mixes and porridge to different jams, crackers in four varieties, and various types of flour. I recommend watching the video about the REWE City at the main train station in conjunction with my shopping trip to see which panifactum products I picked up. After trying them all, the nut cake, the porridge, and the jam (I chose raspberry) are my clear favorites. Thanks to the instructions on the back, everything is super easy to understand and simple to prepare. The result is ready-made, low-carb cakes, a bowl of fresh, hearty porridge, or even dark, intensely flavored bread with raspberry jam – all top-quality. And you can definitely taste the difference! Of course, you'll have to dig a little deeper into your pockets for panifactum products. For example, the baking mixes start at €9.49, while the cakes and muffins range from €6.99 to €11.99. Not exactly cheap, but justified when you understand the concept and know the process involved in bringing the product to REWE shelves in this quality. Panifactum also offers chocolate muesli, a pancake and waffle mix, coconut and chickpea flour, and psyllium husks. Definitely check it out; even if you're not on a low-carb diet, a culinary detour into new territory is worthwhile.

Rewe City am Hauptbahnhof Supermarkt im Test Cracker Panifactum

panifactum Indian Crackers – delicious, spicy, good.

Conclusion

It's worth stopping by regularly! It's fun to wander through the aisles, browse the products here and there, and get to know them better. I also really like the layout of the store. I'm sure you all know those supermarkets where you just want to pop in quickly, grab a couple of things, and be out again. And then there are those stores where you happily linger, browse, and end up with one or two unexpected items in your basket (…I only wanted to buy soap. ;-)). With each visit, the REWE City at the main train station has become one of my new favorite stores. Firstly, because I now understand the advantages for me as a customer of shopping at an "independent" supermarket, and secondly, because I've come home with a different new product every single time. Definitely stop by and get inspired!.

Visited: REWE City at the main train station

Detailed: Approximately 11,000 products in the supermarket, of which approximately 2,000 are new to the market.,
„special products“ and also a kosher assortment
Address: Bahnhofplatz 1, 80335 Munich
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Details: Parking spaces in the Karstadt parking garage; subway/S-Bahn/tram and buses only about 20 meters away.

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